1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an active matrix display. In this context, the term xe2x80x9cdisplayxe2x80x9d includes not only devices intended to be viewed directly by a viewer but also devices for generating or modulating light for other purposes, for example optical processing. Thus, active or light-generating and passive or light-varying spatial light modulators are encompassed by the term xe2x80x9cdisplayxe2x80x9d herein.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings illustrates a typical known type of active matrix display comprising an active matrix 1 of N rows and M columns of picture elements (pixels). The display comprises a data line driver 2 for receiving data at an input 3 and for supplying analogue data voltages to electrodes, such as 4, of liquid crystal pixels via data lines, such as 5. Each pixel comprises a TFT 6 which is connected between the pixel electrode 4 and the respective data line 5 so that columns of pixels are connected to common data lines. The gates of the transistors 6 are connected to scan lines 7 in rows with each scan line being connected to a scan line driver 8 which enables each row of pixels in turn for refreshing of a display row or line.
The data line driver 2 may receive analogue video data or digital video data. In the case of digital video data, the data line driver performs digital/analogue conversion so as to convert the incoming pixel display data to a voltage suitable for application to the pixels in order to display the desired image. The digital/analogue conversion may be non-linear so as to compensate for the generally non-linear liquid crystal voltage/light transmission characteristics.
There are several difficulties to overcome in order to integrate the circuitry such as the data line driver 2 monolithically on the same substrate as the active matrix. These difficulties generally increase with increasing required frequency of operation of the data line driver 2 and arise from: the relatively low semiconductor performance of poly-silicon transistors; and integration density Which is limited by the lithographic resolution achievable over a large substrate area. These factors set limits on the complexity of the data line driver before operating frequency, circuit area and power consumption become problematic
Digital display data are typically supplied to the digital data driver in serial form. The data are segmented into groups, generally referred to as lines of data, with each line of data corresponding to one of the N rows of pixels in the active matrix 1. Starting with the top row of pixels in the matrix 1, the data are input line by line, progressing down the display.
Within each line of data, there are M items of data, each item of which is a digital representation of a pixel display state. Usually, within each line of data, the item of data corresponding to the left-most pixel in a row is input first and is followed by items of data corresponding to pixels progressing from left to right along the row.
The data are supplied to all of the pixels of the active matrix at a frequency known as the frame rate F. In order to achieve this, the data rate f must be greater than or equal to F.N.M. The (horizontal) line time, which is the period between consecutive horizontal synchronisation (HSYNC) pulses, must be less than or equal to 1/FN.
The waveforms illustrated in FIG. 2 of the accompanying drawings illustrate an example of the way in which digital signals are supplied to the digital data driver 2. The signal HSYNC is activated between each line of data and signifies the start of transmission of a line of data. Within each line of data, items D1, D2, . . . DM are transmitted serially.
Known types of monolithically integrated digital data drivers may be categorised into two main types depending on the time interval between when the digital data are transmitted and the corresponding analogue data are written to the data lines. The discrimination point is indicated by time tx in FIG. 2. If a line of data is written to the corresponding row of pixels before the time tx, the driving method is referred to as xe2x80x9cpoint-at-a-timexe2x80x9d. If a line of data is written to the corresponding row of pixels after the time tx, the driving method is referred to as xe2x80x9cline-at-a-timexe2x80x9d.
In line-at-a-time driving, in any one line time, the digital data driver may be sampling digital data for the current line while simultaneously converting the previous line of data from digital to analogue format and supplying the analogue data to the data lines. An advantage of this technique is that a whole line time is available (from when the last item DM of data is supplied until the next but one signal HSYNC) for digital/analogue conversion, writing analogue data to the data lines, and scanning the data from the data lines onto the electrodes of the row of pixels. This relatively large time period reduces the performance requirements of driver circuitry and particularly digital/analogue converter (DAC) circuitry, thus allowing implementation with lower performance processes. However, a disadvantage of this technique is that at least one entire line, and generally two entire lines, of digital data storage registers are required. Further, many DAC circuits are required. This in turn requires a relatively large physical area in the integrated circuit, particularly when the feature size of transistors is not very small as in the case of many poly-silicon TFT processes.
FIG. 3 of the accompanying drawings illustrates in block schematic form a known monolithically integrated digital data driver which is integrated on the same substrate as an active matrix using essentially the same processing steps. The driver comprises M input registers 10 which receive xe2x80x9csingle phasexe2x80x9d digital data in parallel at a frequency of f and a clock at the frequency f. The input registers are connected to M storage registers 11, which thus receive xe2x80x9cM phasexe2x80x9d digital data at a frequency of f/M. The registers 11 supply the M phase digital data at the same frequency to M digital to analogue converters 12, which supply M phase analogue data at the same frequency to the active matrix 1.
The digital data are supplied at the frequency f in such a way that a complete line of data is sampled and stored in the input registers 10. Following storing of a complete line, all the digital data are transferred to the storage registers 11, which allows the input registers to sample and store the next line of data during the next line time while the data in the registers 11 are being converted by the converters 12 to analogue data, which are supplied to the data lines of the matrix 1. An arrangement of this type is disclosed in Y. Matsueda, T. Ozawa, M. Ximura, T. Itoh, K. Nakazawa, and H. Ohsima, xe2x80x9cA 6-bit colour VGA low-temperature poly-Si TFT-LCD with integrated digital data driversxe2x80x9d. Society for information Display 98 Digest, pages 879-882, 1998, which also indicates the large amount of substrate area required for such an arrangement. In fact it has not been possible to implement such an arrangement on only one side of the active matrix substrate. Instead, xe2x80x9ctopsxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cbottomxe2x80x9d digital drivers are connected to intedigitated sets of data lines. A further problem with this arrangement is the difficulty in matching the performance of the converters 12.
FIG. 4 of the accompanying drawings illustrates a known modified type of digital data driver which is also integrated on the same substrate as the active matrix using essentially the same processing steps and which attempts to reduce the required area and minimise the number of transistors by multiplexing and demultiplexing around the DACs 12. The outputs of the storage registers 11 are connected to an M to m phase multiplexer 13, which selects m of the register outputs at a time and supplies these to m DACs 12, where m is less than M. This operation is repeated M/m times per line time so that all M xe2x80x9cunitsxe2x80x9d of data are converted to analogue form during each line time.
The outputs of the DACs are connected to an m to M phase demultiplexer 14, which routes the output of each DAC to drive the appropriate data line of the matrix 1. As shown in FIG. 5 of the accompanying drawings, the output of each DAC 12 is connected to a demultiplexing arrangement of the demultiplexer 14 which selectively connects the DAC output in turn to a set of data lines 5 which are physically adjacent each other in the active matrix 1. In the arrangement illustrated in FIG. 5, M/m is equal to 4. Arrangements of this type are disclosed in M. Osame, M. Azami. J. Koyama, Y. Ogata, H. Ohtani, and S. Yamazaki, xe2x80x9cA 2-6-in. poly-Si TFT-LCD HDTV display with monolithic integrated 8-bit digital data driversxe2x80x9d. Society for Information Display 98 Digest, pages 1059-1062, 1998, U.S. Pat. No. 5,170,158 and EP 0 938 074.
FIG. 6 of the accompanying drawings illustrates a known type of point-at-a-time digital data driver which is integrated on the same substrate as the active matrix using essentially the same processing steps and in which the analogue data are supplied to the data lines of the matrix 1 before the next line of digital data is transmitted to the driver. In this arrangement, there are m input registers 10, m storage registers 11, m digital to analogue converters 12 and an m to M phase demultiplexer 14. This arrangement has the advantage that, because the digital data are converted quickly, the total amount of digital storage is relatively small. However, this requires that the digital to analogue conversion take place-relatively quickly.
Each of the m input registers 10, the m storage registers 11 and the m DACs 12 operate M/m times per line time and each of the DACs drives M/m data lines via the m to M phase demultiplexer.
The DAC s 12 drive the data lines which are physically xe2x80x9clocalxe2x80x9d to their outputs in the way illustrated in FIG. 5 of the accompanying drawings. Accordingly, off-panel data manipulation is required in order to reorder the input data and this is illustrated by the data reordering unit 15 in FIG. 6. For example, if M=16 and m=4, the data are transmitted in the sequence D1, D5, D9, D13, D2, D6, D10, D14, D3, D7, D11, D15, D4, D8, D12, D16. This type of arrangement is disclosed in JP 11038946, GB 2 327 137 and EP 0 837 446 and thus has the disadvantage of requiring the additional off-panel circuitry.
Y. Hanazawa, H. Hirai, K. Kumagai, K. Goshoo, H. Nakamura and J. Hanari, xe2x80x9cA 202 ppi TFT-LCD using Low Temperature pol-Si Technologyxe2x80x9d, proceedings of EuroDiplay ""99, pp 369-372, 1999 discloses a low temperature poly-silicon LCD which comprises an active matrix connected by an array of switches to a plurality of bus lines. The switches are controlled so as to connect sets of adjacent data lines of the active matrix in turn to the bus lines.
The bus lines are connected to off-panel circuitry for supplying in turn sets of analogue signals for the sets of data lines. The off-panel circuitry comprises a controller which receives the input video data and supplies this to a set of digital/analogue converters whose outputs are connected to the bus lines.
EP 0 929 064 discloser an arrangement which comprises a set of line circuits connected to a common input. Each line circuit has a DAC whose output is demultiplexed to several near but non-adjacent data lines. This arrangement gives more conversion time to the DACs with minimum digital storage of the pixel data.
EP 0 458 169 is concerned with reducing the number of switches within the DACs by one corresponding to the least significant bit. The pixel updating phase is divided into two sub-phases. In the first sub-phase, data without its least significant bit are used to refresh the pixel. In the second sub-phase the some digital data are reapplied but with the least significant bit added to the next least significant bit so that the average field across the pixel is that which would have been supplied if the whole data word had been converted. This requires one DAC per data line.
JP 8 137 446 is concerned with an arrangement in which the pixel data for each horizontal line are initially reordered. The pixel words are then applied one at a time to a single DAC. The data lines are then addressed by decoding in the new order to switch the output of the DAC to each appropriate data line in turn.
According to the invention, there is provided an active matrix display comprising an active matrix and a digital data driver formed on a common substrate by a common integration process, the active matrix having M data lines and the driver comprising m registers forming at least one set for storing display data for m picture elements, where m is less than M, and m digital/analogue converters arranged to receive the display data from the m registers, respectively, characterised by m bus lines for receiving from the m converters, respectively, analogue signals representing desired picture element states, and a switching network for connecting in turn groups of m physically adjacent ones of the data lines to the m bus lines, respectively.
The registers may form one set and m may be greater than or equal to 2 and less than or equal to M/2. For example, m may be equal to 6. M.modulo.m may be non-zero and the switching network may be arranged to connect a further group of M.modulo.m physically adjacent ones of the data lines to M.modulo.m of the bus lines, respectively.
The registers may comprise n sets of m/n registers, where n is less than m, each set being arranged to store display data for a respective colour component. For example n may be equal to 3. m may be equal to 18. M.modulo. (m.n) may be non-zero and the switching network may be arranged to connect a further group of M.modulo. (m.n) physically adjacent ones of the data lines to M.modulo.(m.n) of the bus lines, respectively.
The or each set may comprise a first shift register for enabling the registers of the set in turn. The or each set may comprise i registers which are enabled in turn from one to i, each of the 1st to (ixe2x88x921)th registers comprising an input register enabled in turn from one to (ixe2x88x921) and an output register enabled in synchronism with the ith register. Each of the input and output registers may have a storage capacity of a single pixel data word.
The switching network may comprise a plurality of groups of switches, the switches of each group being arranged to switch in synchronism to connect the bus lines to the respective group of the data lines. The driver may comprise a second shift register whose stages are arranged to control respective ones of the groups of switches. The second shift register may be arranged to be clocked by a stage of the first shift register.
The matrix may be a liquid crystal display matrix.
The driver and the matrix may be formed of poly-silicon thin film transistors.
The driver may be formed on one side of the substrate. The active matrix may be formed on the one side of the substrate.
It is thus possible to provide a display having a digital data driver which is relatively compact in terms of substrate area when monolithically integrated with an active matrix and which is capable of driving such a matrix sufficiently rapidly while being embodied by poly-silicon TFTs. In fact, it has been surprisingly found that poly-silicon DAC circuits are capable of driving loads represented by bus lines which traverse the entire length of the driver and hence the entire width of the active matrix in addition to the load represented by each data line of the matrix. Far fewer components are required and this results in lower power consumption, improved manufacturing yield and reduced display bezel size. An entire digital data driver may be implemented on one side of the display and the reduced area results in electronic components which are more uniform. Thus, the accuracies of the digital/analogue converters may be improved and this provides better image quality. The switching network may be embodied as a multi-phase analogue driver, which represents a substantial proportion of the data driver and which may be embodied using existing implementations, thus reducing the cost of design and manufacture and making use of efficient implementations.